Cameroon

The former French Cameroon and part of British Cameroon merged in 1961 to form the present country. Cameroon has generally enjoyed stability, which has permitted the development of agriculture, roads, and railways, as well as a petroleum industry. Despite movement toward democratic reform, political power remains firmly in the hands of an ethnic oligarchy.

• water-borne diseases are prevalent;
• deforestation;
• overgrazing;
• desertification;
• poaching;
• overfishing

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• sometimes referred to as the hinge of Africa;
• throughout the country there are areas of thermal springs and indications of current or prior volcanic activity;
• Mount Cameroon, the highest mountain in Sub-Saharan west Africa, is an active volcano

0-14 years:

42% (male 3,416,086; female 3,334,904)

15-64 years:

54.8% (male 4,425,246; female 4,370,329)

65 years and over:

3.2% (male 233,506; female 283,607) (2004 est.)

at birth:

1.03 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.82 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

noun:

Cameroonian(s)

adjective:

Cameroonian

conventional long form:

Republic of Cameroon

conventional short form:

Cameroon

former:

French Cameroon

• 20 May 1972 approved by referendum;
• 2 June 1972 formally adopted;
• revised January 1996

chief of state:

President Paul BIYA (since 6 November 1982)

head of government:

Prime Minister Ephraim INONI (since 8 Dec 2004)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president from proposals submitted by the prime minister

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term;
• election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held NA October 2011);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

President Paul BIYA reelected; percent of vote - Paul BIYA 70.9%, John FRU NDI 17.4%, Adamou Ndam NJOYA 4.5%, Garga Haman ADJI 3.7%

• Cameroonian Democratic Union or UDC [Adamou NDAM NJOYA];
• Democratic Rally of the Cameroon People or RDCP [Paul BIYA];
• Movement for the Defense of the Republic or MDR [Dakole DAISSALA];
• Movement for the Liberation and Development of Cameroon or MLDC [leader Marcel YONDO];
• Movement for the Youth of Cameroon or MYC [Dieudonne TINA];
• National Union for Democracy and Progress or UNDP [Maigari BELLO BOUBA];
• Social Democratic Front or SDF [John FRU NDI];
• Union of Cameroonian Populations or UPC [Augustin Frederic KODOCK]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jerome MENDOUGA

chancery:

2349 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 265-8790

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-3826

chief of mission:

Ambassador George McDade STAPLES

embassy:

Rue Nachtigal, Yaounde

mailing address:

P. O. Box 817, Yaounde; pouch: American Embassy, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520

telephone:

[237] 223-05-12, 222-25-89, 222-17-94, 223-40-14

FAX:

[237] 223-07-53

branch office(s):

Douala

• three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), red, and yellow with a yellow five-pointed star centered in the red band;
• uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia

lowest 10%:

1.9%

highest 10%:

36.6% (1996)

• coffee, cocoa, cotton, rubber, bananas, oilseed, grains, root starches;
• livestock;
• timber

general assessment:

available only to business and government

domestic:

cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter

international:

• country code - 237;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
• fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia

total:

1,008 km

narrow gauge:

1,008 km 1.000-m gauge (2003)

total:

34,300 km

paved:

4,288 km

unpaved:

30,012 km (1999 est.)

total:

1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 169,593 GRT/357,023 DWT

by type:

petroleum tanker 1 (2004 est.)

• ICJ ruled in 2002 on the entire Cameroon-Nigeria land and maritime boundary but the parties formed a Joint Border Commission to resolve differences bilaterally and have commenced with demarcation in less-contested sections of the boundary, starting in Lake Chad in the north;
• the ICF ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, however, implementation of the decision is delayed due to imprecisely defined coordinates, the unresolved Bakasi allocation, and a sovereignty dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River;
• Nigeria initially rejected cession of the Bakasi Peninsula;
• Lake Chad Commission continues to urge signatories Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria to ratify delimitation treaty over the lake region, which remains the site of armed clashes among local populations and militias